


Orange Bands

by XxXJustBeFriendsXxX



Category: Free!
Genre: I Will Go Down With This Ship, I can't help it, I feel they deserve a character spot., M/M, also even though Rin and Nitori are only in there for a mention or two, okay so I think I'm done here enjoy!, this is my ship, yet another soumomo thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 20:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3222203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxXJustBeFriendsXxX/pseuds/XxXJustBeFriendsXxX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Momo refuses to smile. Nothing will ever make him smile again. Nothing! ...Why is Sousuke sitting so close to him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orange Bands

"But why?" Momo asked, annoyed with the way the things caught on his lips at times. And also the way the back would scrape his tongue, causing a horrible sensation. "Because your teeth are a mess, Momo. Don't worry, they're not so bad!" They were bad. They were awful. It didn't matter that they were orange. It didn't matter that his teeth were, quote unquote, 'a mess'. He did not need these metal atrocities. These... _braces_. All they would do is mess up his master plan in acquiring Gou's affections, or really _any_ ladies' affections considering how old he was. Really, they should've taken into account that he was way too old for braces and would be the laughing stock of the swim team. Of his class. Of the _world_! ...Okay, maybe he was overexagerrating a bit there, but, in all honestly, he couldn't stand these things.

The next day, he pretended that nothing was wrong, smiling and everything. Though, everyone would ask the question, "When did you get braces?", or sometimes they would say, "I'm not really surprised, your teeth were kinda bad." Said people being Nitori Aiichiro. But, to hell with them. The same day, though, he was having a hard time eating his food. Concentrating was usually a problem for him already, but these braces were making it worse with the way they felt around his lips, how tight they were, how painful they made his teeth feel. And those things in the back, connected by metal and used to tighten it, even the wax he got to make it better didn't help. In fact, he's pretty sure he swallowed half of the damn thing because it refused to stay on, and he's thoroughly convinced he's going to get scars because of how much his tongue gets scratched by them. Sleeping was even worse because, with nothing to distract him completely, he was tossing and turning, annoying his roommate, and all because his braces decided to be painful little things.

The next day, he was done. He was not going to do anything until these braces were gone. He wasn't going to smile. Or talk. Or do  _anything_. He was just going to sit here, poking at his lunch, hoping that the food from yesterday would be enough to keep him full for the rest of the day. He ate a little bit, but regreted it because of the way his braces made his food eating so difficult! It just hurt to eat so much! He just set it down, crossing his arms.

"I am not eating anymore!" He said, glaring at his food, a bite mark with his braces still present as he continued to glare at it, his friends laughing and making fun of him. Over the next few days, his friends started being concerned for him, as he wouldn't really want to eat anything, saying that it hurt too much. During swim practice, one person took notice of how uncomfortable Momo was.

"...What's the matter with Momo?" Sousuke asked Rin, which caused him to look over.

"Oh. Yeah, he got braces a few days ago. He's been complaining about them for a while." He said, as Sousuke looked over at Momo, sulking away back to his dorm room. Now, Sousuke never admitted this to anyone, but, he liked seeing Momo's smile and attitude. It seemed to brighten the team up, and even when he was being annoying, everyone knew he meant it in good fun. And, really, Momo was, in his honest opinion, kind of cute. He liked Momo well enough and his energy and smile was really what made Momo, Momo. ...He had to at least try and fix this.

The next day, Momo was absentmindedly picking at his food. His friends were all hanging out since Momo was being too depressing for them, but, Momo couldn't help it. These braces kind of hurt him whenever he tried to smile. His teeth were just completely sore. That's it. Nothing is ever going to make him smile ever again. He's going to be alone and sad all because of these stupid braces. As the depressing thoughts kept taking over, he felt someone sit next to him, looking up and over.

"...Sousuke-senpai, what're you doin'?" He asked, before regretting it, as Sousuke was looking at his mouth, seeing the orange bands on his braces. He covered his mouth.

"...You got braces." He bluntly said, as Momo looked at him with a bit of a glare. Sousuke had the urge to laugh, really, since he didn't look very serious.

"...I didn't want 'em! My mom said that the dentist recommended 'em, but, I bet she just wanted me to have 'em to ruin my life." He said, as Sousuke couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"I doubt that's the case." He saw the sad look on Momo's face as he absentmindedly picked at his food. It was depressing just looking at him, and his problem wasn't even that bad. ...Well, he decided, if he can get Momo to talk to him...maybe he can laugh, too?

"...Banana." Momo looked up, wondering if he was going crazy. "...Banana." He slowly looked over at Sousuke, who was looking at him. "...Banana." There it was again. Straight out of his mouth. ...What was he...? "...Banana." ...No. He wasn't. Momo looked at him with a tired look on his face.

"Sousuke-senpaiiii...noooo...." He whined, as Sousuke smiled, thinking this was more like him.

"...Orange." He glared at him.

"Sousuke-senpai, I'm serious, don't make me laugh, it huuuuurts!" He said, as Sousuke shrugged.

"Well...Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" Momo, hearing the punchline, had to try and resist laughing, hearing Sousuke of all people telling one of the lamest jokes he knew. It was really hard, trying to not smile because of the pain, before he ran off, as Sousuke raised a brow. ...Well there went that plan. Though now he knew that jokes were the way to go.  
  
After swim practice, and not another joke from Sousuke, Momo decided to get him and Nitori a drink from the soda machine. He needed it to stop the aching in his mouth, and he thought it was only right to ask Nitori if he wanted one too. He turned, seeing Sousuke walking over. Oh no, Momo thought. He had to get out of there before Sousuke told another lame joke.

"...Momo. What are you doing?" He heard Sousuke ask, as Momo looked at him.

"...G...getting a drink...?" He asked. ...Maybe it was just a one time thing, that joke. After all, Sousuke wouldn't have cared this much about telling lame jokes just because he wasn't smiling-

"...This reminds me of this guy I knew."

"...Me getting a can of soda reminds you of someone..." Momo said, a deadpan look on his face as Sousuke nodded.

"Yeah. He was hit in the head with a can of soda." Momo looked at him, eyes wide.

"R-really?! W-what happened?!" He asked, as Sousuke nodded.

"Yeah. I don't really remember what happened...But, he was lucky that it was a  _soft drink_." Momo was then confused, before realizing the joke. He covered his mouth, teeth already straining, before running, his muffled scream sounding through the hallway as Sousuke watched him run away. ...Damn, and he got that one online, too.

Throughout the entire week, Momo had to try his best to avoid Sousuke. He kept telling him jokes, and Momo had to stop himself from laughing because it just kept hurting his mouth to. Even during swim practice, Sousuke tried telling Momo jokes, and even then, he would run away despite Rin yelling at him to come back, even going so far as to hunt him down and drag him back. Sousuke just showed no mercy. Finally, Sousuke sat down next to Momo, and before saying his joke, Momo looked at him.

"Sousuke-senpai, no more amazing jokes!" He said, as Sousuke blinks. Trying to explain himself, Momo beats him to the punch and starts talking again. "Why don't you like me, huh, Sousuke-senpai?! Is it because I'm too happy?! Is this payback?! Well, my mouth has been hurting ever since I got the braces, and you're not making it any better with your jokes! It hurts, and I'm not taking it anymore!" He concluded, turning away, as Sousuke stared.

"...Momo...are you telling me, that after a week or two of having braces...it still hurts?" He nodded, crossing his arms. "...Momo...it's not supposed to hurt anymore. You were supposed to get used to them by now. I think your dentist tightened your braces too much." He said, as Momo stared at him. Then, he started smiling.

"S-so does this mean I can take them off?! B-because he messed up?!" He asked, as Sousuke looked him. He was finally smiling again. Sousuke couldn't help but smile back.

"No, it doesn't. ...But, it does mean that when you go back, he's going to adjust them to the point where it won't hurt as much as it has. And you can even start smiling and laughing again." He said, as Momo groaned at the thought of still keeping the braces on him.

"...And, Momo." He looked over at Sousuke, who sighed.

"I don't hate your happiness or anything. I was just trying to cheer you up because of your braces. I like it when you smile. It's nice." He said, as Momo stood there frozen, Sousuke getting up after resolving the issue. ...Though, Momo was still frozen after hearing that.

 

 

After going to the dentist and resolving the issue of the too tight braces, Momo was back to his usual self, smiling happily. His mouth didn't even hurt as much anymore, though he was still convinced he was going to get tongue scars. After swim practice and having everyone tell him how glad they were for him to be back to his normal self, he saw Sousuke and smiled, running over.

"Sousuke!" He called out, Sousuke turning, a little surprised that he wasn't adding 'senpai' after that. "Guess what! It doesn't hurt anymore!" He told him, as Sousuke nodded.

"So you talked to your dentist. That's good." He said, as Momo nodded.

"Yeah! Ah, but, I was wondering...how did you know that it was because he tightened it too much?" He asked, as Sousuke looked at him.

"...Well, actually, I used to have braces. It was for about two years, but-"

"YOU DID?!" Momo called out as Sousuke sighed at his loudness.

"Wow, did you hate it!? Did the braces cut your lips and your tongue?! How did you eat without getting food in them?! Oh! What color were they?" He asked, as Sousuke sighed, looking at him.

"Calm down...Yes, I hated it. Yes, they did, and I have the scars to prove it. No, there is no way to eat without getting food stuck in them. ...And I chose a dark green for mine." He said, as Momo nodded.

"Ooohh..." They kept talking about braces, Sousuke not really minding in the long run.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh...I could not come up with an ending for this...I wanted Momo to have dark green braces, but I didn't know how. I also wanted them to kiss or something, but that didn't turn out well either. Ugh...endings...I should write something with more fluff...and kissing...definitely kissing next time...let's just pretend that, in the end, they go out and kiss. A lot. ...That could be a new drabble, one-shot, thingy...Yeaaaahh... Anyway, yeah, I ended up reading a SouMomo oneshot and they used the word "bracing" or something like that, and then I thought, "...Momo would look really cute with braces. ...He'd probably hate it though...cuuuuute..." And figured why not, might as well contribute to this ship again for fun. I hope you enjoyed it, bye!


End file.
